Blended phytogenics as an alternative to growth-promoting antibiotics in newly weaned piglets

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2025, Vol.57 (1), p.5, Article 5
• Main Authors: Santos, Manoela Karolina Ribeiro, Seghetto, Ronaldo, Hauptli, Lucélia, Paiano, Diovani, da Silva, Aleksandro Schafer, Benetti Filho, Vilmar, Wagner, Glauber, de Oliveira Moraes, Priscila
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Feed - analysis; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - drug effects; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotics; Antioxidants; Bacitracin; Bacitracin - administration & dosage; Bacitracin - pharmacology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Diet; Diet - veterinary; Dietary Supplements - analysis; Digestibility; Digestion - drug effects; Dry matter; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; Immunoglobulin A; Intestinal microflora; Life Sciences; Lipid peroxidation; Lipids; Male; Males; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Organic matter; Performance evaluation; Peroxidation; Proteins; Random Allocation; Regular Articles; Superoxide dismutase; Sus scrofa - growth & development; Swine; Variance analysis; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Weaning; Weighing; Zinc bacitracin; Zinc compounds; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-024-04225-2

The research aimed to evaluate the effects of a commercial blend of phytogenic compounds on the digestibility, antioxidant system, intestinal microbiota, and performance of weaned piglets. Two experiments compared three treatments (diets): control, zinc bacitracin (300 g/t) and blended phytogenic compounds (400 g/t). The first experiment analised of digestibility of the dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, crude energy and metabolizable energy, in addition to blood parameters and gut microbiota in 15 piglets commercial cross-bred, weaned at 28 days of age, castrated males, weighing 9.40 ± 0.622 kg housed in metabolic cages. In the second experiment, performance was evaluated on 108 piglets commercial cross-bred, weaned at 26 days of age, females and castrated males, weighing 7.52 ± 0.356 kg housed in collective stalls with 1,5 m² (3 animals/stall). A completely randomized design was used. The data were subjected to analysis of variance, and the means compared by the Tukey test at 5% significance. There were no differences in piglet digestibility and performance. There was a reduction in the levels of the enzyme superoxide dismutase, lipid peroxidation, and haptoglobulin, and an increase in the levels of the non-protein thiol compound and IgA for the animals receiving the phytogenic compound when compared with the piglets of the other treatments ( p